12:46 PM EDT, 06/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US job openings hit their highest level in almost two years in April, while hiring and layoffs fell, official data showed Tuesday.

Vacancies rose to 7.62 million in April from 6.89 million the month prior, reaching its highest reading since May 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The consensus was for a 6.87 million level in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Private job openings increased to 6.84 million from 6.16 million sequentially in April. Vacancies jumped by 668,000 in professional and business services, but fell by 134,000 financial activities, according to official data.

"Job openings jumped to their highest level in nearly two years, but this likely overstates the strength of the labor market, as the increase didn't translate into a higher hiring rate," Oxford Economics Senior US Economist Matthew Martin said in remarks e-mailed to MT Newswires. "The result should be taken with a grain of salt and doesn't suggest a sudden tightening of labor market conditions is ahead."

Hiring fell to 5.12 million in April from 5.54 million the month before, while the hiring rate eased to 3.2% from 3.5%, official data showed. Separations decreased to 4.98 million from 5.38 million, while layoffs dropped to 1.69 million from 1.88 million.

"For now, the labor market remains mostly stable," Martin said. "With the quits rate and the layoff rate ticking down in April, neither employees nor employers are in a hurry to make moves."

Elevated oil prices driven by the Middle East conflict threaten to lower aggregate demand by "crimping" real incomes, likely prompting businesses to pull back on hiring intentions, according to Martin.

Talks between the US and Iran are ongoing, CNN reported Tuesday, citing Iranian media outlets. On Monday, Tehran reportedly suspended talks with Washington in retaliation to Israel's military action in Lebanon. The US and Israel's war with Iran started at the end of February.

"For the Federal Reserve, this will mean a balancing act between the risks of a supply side shock to energy prices bleeding into core measures of inflation and the downside risks to the labor market," Martin said Tuesday, adding that Oxford Economics expects the US central bank to remain on the "sidelines" for the rest of the year.

Official data are expected to show Friday that the US economy added 95,000 nonfarm jobs in May, compared with a 115,000 increase reported for the previous month, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.